Cascade Crew

[83Z28BlackBetty]

so i got to thinkin the other day...i know, could be dangerous

about the future of my car. where do i want it eventually. this is all way off in the future, but I'm just wanting to plan and get some insight on a few ideas. I will most likely be upgrading to a 3.4 ish or 3.7 ish rear. and still debating on an auto or manual. I will stick with a carbed setup and the possibility of spray or supercharger are slim.

I'm looking for the pros, cons, and specs about some different engine builds.

stroking it to a 383

building a 400sbc

dropping in a 454 (dad's idea)

After doing some initial research, I've found that a 454 only ads about 150 lbs depending on the heads over a small block. I'm leaning towards a 400 simply because it will have lots of torque, and its a small block (more parts available) i don't have cams or heads picked out at this point, I'm simply curious what the possibilities are with each.

~JAKE

[blue89]

I was reading about 383 stuff somewhere and it seems that combination of bore/stroke produces more hp/cu.in. than any other sbc combination. I don't know if that helped you at all, just an interesting bit of info. Mike should chime in, he actually has one.

I would love to do a bbc build. Those engines are cool.
http://www.roadsters.com/bbc/

I found that site a long time ago. It has all the bore/stroke info on bbc's. Good stuff. But which bbc combo yeilds the most, I have no clue.

[Sellmanb]

Why not a stroked 400, small block 427, then you can keep your extra 150 pounds off the car, at a loss of only 28ci.

I've always been a fan of 400 builds, but the aftermarket for 400's isnt too great when you're looking for heads or bottom end pieces.

[Dewey316]

Big blocks are a lot of work in these cars, ask qwktrip.

Look at schultzy 383 combo, that is a stout motor. What are you HP goals, or track time goals, or whatever. It turns into a big bench rancing session, unless you have laid out your goals yet, if you have those, then we can talk about what combo will get you to where you want to be.

--John

[BigDaddyVu]

i raced a friend of mine he has a destroked 400 and he runs in the mid 12' on pump gas

[Quasi-Traction]

[rjmcgee]

It's all about displacement. If some racing rule limits displacement then I can see something like a destroked 400 making sence. Since that isn't an issue you want to build as many inches as you can. If you have a 400 block then build a 400 or bigger. If you have a 350 block the onle logical thing to do is buy a stroker kit for it. Since there was prolly 100+ 350's for every one 400 made there are alot more peple building 383's then building 400's.

Take a 383 and a 400 with identical heads, cams, and everything else identical, the 400 will make more power due to it's displacement advantage.

Just my 2cents

[DBL_TKE]

I'm actually just about to go look at 4 different complete 400's (minus the intake) that somebody is selling for $300 each. He also has one that he said is built up a bit more. I'm going with a fellow coworker and his brother (who is a mechanic). they'll be tearing apart those engine to make sure that nothing is wrong with them. They are on engine stands and running so we can do tests on them. If you're really interested in a SBC 400 then I could get you some more info on them or you could come and check them out for yourself.

[Twilightoptics]

The cubes for a 400 are nice, but the durability of a 383 is much more appealing to me.

It's about displacement to some.... to others... it's about how high you wanna rev!

There is an older gal with a '90 Firebird locally who holds a national record in one of the drag classes running mid 7 seconds in the quater. With a naturally apsirated.......... wait for it....... wait for it........... 283!!!! She leaves the starting line at 9000RPM and shifts at 14k. Now there is some power!

[RSFreak]

I would keep that 150lbs off the nose and put in a nice 383. Personally, I have always wanted to do a 327 build but probably never will...

[BigDaddyVu]

just buy one complete. http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/403686397.html

[83Z28BlackBetty]

cool guys, so after more thinking. I guess I should say that Nitro is not out of the question, just merely not right away. As far as turbo, or super charger. I'm thinking against it. and the 454 is out, due to all the extra mods needing to be done.

SO: SBC, 383 or 400?

I'm curious what are the advantages of a 383 over a 400? or visa versa?
I've been told something about consistent power all over the RPM range, or faster reving?

As far as goals, I'd like to see 12's (doesn't everybody) but keep it streetable and able to corner well.

~JAKE

[Quasi-Traction]

my vote is for the 383. Easier to find a block in usable shape.

[blue89]

I vote LT1.

Whats the difference in blocks between the 383 and 400?

[83Z28BlackBetty]

[Dewey316]

If you plan to spray it at some point, get the 383. I don't know that you need a 383 either, look at Pauls combo, you could build build darn near the same thing, with a carb on it, and be where you want to be. You will also want to figure out what you are going to do about the tranny, rear end, etc, because there is a lot more to going that fast, than just the motor.

--John

[83Z28BlackBetty]

why the 383 with spray? is it something to do with reving faster?
tranny: not quite sure yet, still thinkin. I really like manuals but i may keep the auto.
rear end: this will come before the new motor for sure. but i need a posi with a gear ratio around 3.73. whether its a 9 or 10 bolt will depend on what i can find.

[Dewey316]

the 400 has siamised cyl walls, for forced induction where a lot of heat is made, its not as good of an idea. Brandon may eleberate on this more, but the 400 is not as good at getting rid of heat.

--John

[Quasi-Traction]

[chevymad]

4 bolt 400 blocks are junk. I don't think they're splayed either, but there is less material in them then the 2bolt blocks. To build a strong 400 based motor you need to use a 2 bolt block with aftermarket 4 bolt splayed caps.

All factory 400s use the short rods, so they have a bad rod/stroke ratio and also cause piston scuffing.

Overbore is generally a max of 0.030 then the block is junk. The occasional block will make 0.040, but most people try to stay at 0.020. Some blocks will have overheating problems with any additional bore.

Stock 400s were complete boat anchors. The heads of the time didnt flow enough for that many cubes. So you'll definatly be needing a set of aftermarket heads for one. I'm old enough to remember the days people took their 400s out and threw them in the river, then put in a 350.

The only way i'd build a 400 based motor myself, is with an aftermarket block.

Now the 383 also has some of these issues. When you increase the rod length to fix the rod/stroke ratio and scuffing problem, you start putting the piston pin into the oil ring. You then have to use ring supports to hold the oil ring. 5.7 rods don't have this problem but 6.0's do. Something to think about with boost or spray.

The 350 block can generally be safely overbored to 0.060 over. So you can usually get 2 complete overhauls and a couple more re-rings out of the same motor. Stock 4 bolt blocks are good and so are the 2bolt, but here again for the ultimate go aftermarket splayed.

There's no way i'd start with a stock 400 crank/rods for a 383 build. First you'd have to have the crank machined down to 350 journal specs. The 400 journals are larger. Plus as mentioned the factory rods are junk. Then you have to have the whole thing balanced. For the price of the scat/eagle rotating kits, you'd have to be nutz to go this route.